21st Century Complete Guide to the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Interplanetary Spacecraft Tracking, Videos, History, ... Research, Photo Gallery (CD-ROM)

This electronic book on CD-ROM provides a comprehensive guide to the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN), an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft and radio and radar astronomy operations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe. The network is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The DSN consists of three deep-space communications facilities placed 120 degrees apart around the world: at Goldstone, in California's Mojave Desert; near Madrid, Spain; and near Canberra, Australia. This strategic placement permits constant observation of spacecraft as the Earth rotates, and helps to make the DSN the largest and most sensitive scientific telecommunications system in the world. NASA's scientific investigation of the Solar System is being accomplished mainly through the use of unmanned automated spacecraft. The DSN provides the vital two-way communications link that guides and controls these planetary explorers, and brings back the images and new scientific information they collect. All DSN antennas are steerable, high-gain, parabolic reflector antennas. The antennas and data delivery systems make it possible to: Acquire telemetry data from spacecraft; Transmit commands to spacecraft; Track spacecraft position and velocity; Perform very-long-baseline interferometry observations; Measure variations in radio waves for radio science experiments; Gather science data; Monitor and control the performance of the network. Contents include:

* Details of the famous Goldstone and Canberra antenna complexes * DSN Operations and Maintenance information * Using the Deep Space Network for science * -Solar System Dynamics and the Basics of Space Flight

There are video clips with a short DSN Story, and a time-lapse view of antenna construction in QuickTime and MPEG formats.

This CD-ROM has over 12,000 pages reproduced using Adobe Acrobat PDF software - allowing direct viewing on Windows and Macintosh systems, and Reader software is included. Advanced search and indexing features are built into our reproduction, providing a complete full-text index. This enables the user to search all the files on the disk at one time for words or phrases using just one search command! The Acrobat cataloging technology adds enormous value and uncommon functionality to this impressive collection of government documents and material. There is no other reference that is as fast, convenient, comprehensive, and portable!

Our CD-ROMs are privately-compiled collections of official public domain U.S. government files and documents - they are not produced by the federal government. They are designed to provide a convenient user-friendly reference work, utilizing the benefits of the Acrobat format to uniformly present thousands of pages that can be rapidly reviewed, searched, or printed without untold hours of tedious searching and downloading. Vast archives of important public domain government information that might otherwise remain inaccessible are available for instant review no matter where you are. This book-on-a-disc makes a superb reference work for scientists, researchers, libraries, schools, students, and home reference!